The liberal People for the American Way just sent out a statement attacking the school voucher plan that John McCain discussed in his speech today before the NAACP. Here’s People For President Kathryn Kolbert:
“John McCain is trying to score points with his right wing base, and he’s doing it at the expense of children. It’s bad enough that these voucher schemes are designed to undermine the separation of church at state. But more importantly, they don’t help children learn. Study after study, including the two government sanctioned studies of the DC voucher program, shows that vouchers are not an effective tool for improving student achievement….
it’s an ideological valentine aimed straight at the Religious Right base.”
That release got God-o-Meter wondering: if People For is castigating McCain’s support for school vouches as a violation of the separation of church and state, how’d the group respond to Barack Obama’s zealous support for a more active White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives?
It turns out that People For is pretty dark on that program, too, with Kolbert saying earlier this month:
What is less clear and potentially more problematic is the possibility that federal funds would be sent directly to houses of worship. That’s a bad idea. Helping community groups create nonprofits that can be held to legal and constitutional standards is a good idea. Both religiously affiliated and secular nonprofit organizations have worked in partnership with government agencies to meet human needs while respecting the Constitution. Direct government funding of houses of worship is neither necessary nor appropriate. It would create both a constitutional problem and logistical mess, pitting oversight and accountability for public funds against the autonomy of churches, synagogues, and mosques.
Bringing government and religion together, even for noble purposes, is a tricky business…
Sure, these worried paragraphs appeared under the Obama-friendly headline:
People For the American Way Encouraged by Obama Commitment to Apply Constitutional Principles to Partnerships with Faith-Based Groups
But at least the group is taking its favored candidate to task for bringing religion into public policy. People For was founded to combat the Religious Right’s attempted injection of religion into politics and government (for proof, watch the group’s 25-year anniversary video). So how must if feel now that the Democratic candidate for president is trying to do exactly that?
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posted July 17, 2008 at 9:31 am
HURRAH FOR MCCAIN! IT IS TIME WE GET RID OF OBAMA – HE IS A PHONY FROM THE WORD GO AND IS CONSTANTLY FLIP FLOPPING BACK AND FORTH. HIS WIFE IS NOT BETTER NOW THAT SHE IS HAPPIER BEING AN AMERICAN THAN EVER BEFORE. THEY WILL DO ANYTHING TO GET IN THE WHITE HOUSE AND I PRAY TO GOD IT WILL NOT HAPPEN. GOD BLESS AMERICA ONE NATION UNDER GOD FOREVER.
posted July 17, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Dan,
Thanks for taking note of our consistent concern for constitutional principles that protect religious liberty. But your parting question reflects a much too simplistic view of religion and politics, which is that you’re either for their mixing or against. The fact is that religion and politics inevitably mix in our free society, sometimes in ways that respect pluralism and our Constitution, sometimes in ways that undermine religious liberty. Your question comes too close to adopting the frame of Religious Right groups who argue falsely that defenders of church-state separation are out to silence religious voices in the public square. It’s never been true. People For the American Way has always had people of faith on our board and staff and among our members. We actively encourage progressive people of faith to advocate on behalf of their values. And we have never tried to prevent Religious Right leaders or their supporters from exercising their constitutional rights. There is a huge gulf between public officials talking about how faith influences their lives and political positions, and efforts to use tax dollars, public school classrooms, or the machinery of government to promote a particular religious viewpoint. The “Obama friendly headline” you referenced was about his stated commitment to separation of church and state and the principle that government money should never be used to proselytize or to fund discrimination. There are important lines to be drawn, even if they’re admittedly sometimes fuzzy ones. We will speak up whenever we think important lines are being crossed in ways that undermine the constitutional principles that safeguard the religious liberty and peaceful pluralism that we are so privileged to enjoy as Americans.
Peter at People For the American Way
posted July 20, 2008 at 6:02 pm
My children went to Catholic schools and I am grateful I had the money to send them. Voucher’s would have been helpful back then and I feel they are necessary now. The public school systems are not teaching our kids they way they should. If they are not gifted or disabled they get lost and are treated as if they are dumb. My son did well when I took him out of the public school and put him in the Catholic school. Not only did he get an education but he got spirituality too. Please bring on vouchers so others can get the chance in life I was able to afford for my children
posted October 23, 2008 at 8:22 am
He ‘got’ spirituality? You mean he was effectively brain-washed, er ah, I mean taught the ways of the bible, right? Good job in beating down any chance of him using a fully logical mind in his future.